Can You Clean Your Skin With Oil?
Sandy Says:
I was wondering about the oil cleansing method (OCM) for cleaning skin. Scientifically, how does it work? And what is it in olive and castor oil that help the skin?
The Right Brain Replies:
People who believe in the Oil Cleansing Method say that you can rub a mixture of olive and castor oil onto your skin to dissolve makeup, dirt, and oil and then you can wipe the gunky mixture off with a cloth to clean your skin.
This idea does make some sense scientifically when one considers the chemical principle of “like dissolves like.” At this point you’re saying either “Ah, yes, like dissolves like, I remember from high school chemistry OR “Cut the geek speak and just tell us if this works or not.” *Sigh* It’s not easy being Brainy…
Anyway, scientific theory aside, we don’t have a clear cut answer about this practice. We haven’t been able to specifically find any data to show that the OCM causes acne or has any other negative side effects, but neither have we been able to find anything positive on it from dermatologists. In fact, based on what we’ve seen dermatologists say the best cleansing routine involves using a mild synthetic detergent to get rid of oil. (Although, to be honest, we’re getting conflicting messages from derms. On the official Academy of American Dermatologists website, they state that using plain soap and water is the best way to clean skin. This advice strikes us as odd since soap has been proven to be drying to skin.)
Confused? So are we. We have two opposing views of how to clean your face: do you use straight oil or plain soap? Which way is best? The Beauty Brains suggest you experiment to find the way best for your skin. You can mix olive oil and castor oil as described here and use that to clean your face for a week. Then the following week use the soap or synthetic cleanser of your choice. A week may or may not be long enough to decide for sure, but you should start to get a pretty good idea of what feels good for your skin. And of course you can also alternate using the two methods.
The Beauty Brain’s Bottom Line:
The Oil Cleansing Method could be good for certain skin types but we can’t find any data to show how effective it is over time. If anyone has already experimented with technique, please let us know.
Similar Posts:
Loading ...
